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Detection Of Chlamydia In The Peripheral Blood Cells Of Normal Donors Using In Vitro Culture, Immunofluorescence Microscopy And Flow Cytometry Techniques, Frances Cirino, Wilmore Webley, Corrie West, Nancy L. Croteau, Chester Andrzejewski Jr., Elizabeth S. Stuart

Wilmore C Webley

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cp) are medically significant infectious agents associated with various chronic human pathologies. Nevertheless, specific roles in disease progression or initiation are incompletely defined. Both pathogens infect established cell lines in vitro and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has detected Chlamydia DNA in various clinical specimens as well as in normal donor peripheral blood monocytes (PBMC). However, Chlamydia infection of other blood cell types, quantification of Chlamydia infected cells in peripheral blood and transmission of this infection in vitro have not been examined.

METHODS: Cp specific titers were assessed for sera from 459 normal human …

Interaction Of The Onset Of Spring And Elevated Atmospheric Co2 On Ragweed (Ambrosia Artemisiifolia L.) Pollen Production, Christine A. Rogers, P Wayne, E Macklin, M L. Muilenberg, C W. Wagner, P R. Epstein, F A. Bazzaz

Christine A. Rogers

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is responsible for climate changes that are having widespread effects on biological systems. One of the clearest changes is earlier onset of spring and lengthening of the growing season. We designed the present study to examine the interactive effects of timing of dormancy release of seeds with low and high atmospheric CO2 on biomass, reproduction, and phenology in ragweed plants (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), which produce highly allergenic pollen. We released ragweed seeds from dormancy at three 15-day intervals and grew plants in climate-controlled glasshouses at either ambient or 700-ppm CO2 concentrations, placing open-top bags over inflorescences …

2006 Newsletter, Morton Sternheim

STEM Education Institute Newsletters

Conference on Alternative Certification for Science Teachers

Nanotechnology p. 2

STEM Earth Central p. 3

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars p. 8

Nutrition and Health in the Science Classroom p. 10

Science Exhibit and Demo p. 11

STEM Adventures p. 5

Noyce Scholars p. 10

PV STEMNET Looks to Future Funding p. 5

Spring Semester Field Trips p. 6

STEM Connections Ends p. 7

STEMTEC Faculty Development Programs p. 9

Farewell to STEMTEC p. 9

Evaluating Spatial Surveillance: Detection Of Known Outbreaks In Real Data, Ken Kleinman, Allyson Abrams, W. Katherine Yih, Richard Platt, Martin Kulldorff

Public Health Department Faculty Publication Series

Since the anthrax attacks of October 2001 and the SARS outbreaks of recent years, there has been an increasing interest in developing surveillance systems to aid in the early detection of such illness. Systems have been established which do this is by monitoring primary health-care visits, pharmacy sales, absenteeism records, and other non-traditional sources of data. While many resources have been invested in establishing such systems, relatively little effort has as yet been expended in evaluating their performance.

One way to evaluate a given surveillance system is to compare the signals it generates with known outbreaks identified in other systems. …

Variation In Hepatitis B Immunization Coverage Rates Associated With Provider Practices After The Temporary Suspension Of The Birth Dose, Nancy D. Lin, Ken Kleinman, K Arnold Chan, Xian-Jie Yu, Eric K. France, Feifei Wei, John P. Mullooly, Steven Black, David Shay, Margarette Kolczak, Tracey Lieu, Vaccine Safety Datalink Team

Public Health Department Faculty Publication Series

Background

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and U.S. Public Health Service recommended suspending the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine due to concerns about potential mercury exposure. A previous report found that overall national hepatitis B vaccination coverage rates decreased in association with the suspension. It is unknown whether this underimmunization occurred uniformly or was associated with how providers changed their practices for the timing of hepatitis B vaccine doses. We evaluate the impact of the birth dose suspension on underimmunization for the hepatitis B vaccine series among 24-month-olds in five large provider groups and describe provider practices …

Tailor-Made Composite Functions As Tools In Model Choice: The Case Of Sigmoidal Vs. Bi-Linear Growth Profiles, Tobias I. Baskin, Winfried S. Peters

Tobias Baskin

Background Roots are the classical model system to study the organization and dynamics of organ growth zones. Profiles of the velocity of root elements relative to the apex have generally been considered to be sigmoidal. However, recent high-resolution measurements have yielded bi-linear profiles, suggesting that sigmoidal profiles may be artifacts caused by insufficient spatio-temporal resolution. The decision whether an empirical velocity profile follows a sigmoidal or bi-linear distribution has consequences for the interpretation of the underlying biological processes. However, distinguishing between sigmoidal and bi-linear curves is notoriously problematic. A mathematical function that can describe both types of curve equally well …

How Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke, Outdoor Air Pollutants, And Increased Pollen Burdens Influence The Incidence Of Asthma, M I. Gilmour, M S. Jaakola, S J. London, A Nel, Christine A. Rogers

Christine A. Rogers

Asthma is a multifactorial airway disease that arises from a relatively common genetic background interphased with exposures to allergens and airborne irritants. The rapid rise in asthma over the past three decades in Western societies has been attributed to numerous diverse factors, including increased awareness of the disease, altered lifestyle and activity patterns, and ill-defined changes in environmental exposures. It is well accepted that persons with asthma are more sensitive than persons without asthma to air pollutants such as cigarette smoke, traffic emissions, and photochemical smog components. It has also been demonstrated that exposure to a mix of allergens and …

Relationship Between Mechanisms And Activities At The Time Of Pedestrian Injury And Activity Limitation Among School Adolescents In Kathmandu, Nepal, Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Shinji Nakahara, Masao Ichikawa, Krishna Poudel-Tandukar, Susumu Wakai

Elaine Marieb College of Nursing Faculty Publication Series

This study assessed the relationship between pedestrian activity at the time of injury, the type of vehicle involved and resulting activity limitation among school adolescents in the Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts of Nepal. A cross-sectional study of 1557 students in grades 6–8 across 14 schools was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire from August to September 2003. Twenty-three percent of adolescents reported pedestrian injuries, 38% were from urban and 21% from semi-urban areas. Adolescents were commonly injured by motorcycles and motor vehicles while crossing the road; however, while walking and playing, they were commonly injured by bicycles and motorcycles. Bicycles and …

Four Different Study Designs To Evaluate Vaccine Safety Were Equally Validated With Contrasting Limitations, Jason M. Glanz, David L. Mcclure, Stanley Xu, Simon J. Hambidge, Martin Lee, Margarette S. Kolczak, Ken Kleinman, John P. Mullooly, Eric K. France

Public Health Department Faculty Publication Series

OBJECTIVE:

We conducted a simulation study to empirically compare four study designs [cohort, case-control, risk-interval, self-controlled case series (SCCS)] used to assess vaccine safety.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:

Using Vaccine Safety Datalink data (a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded project), we simulated 250 case sets of an acute illness within a cohort of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. We constructed the other three study designs from the cohort at three different incident rate ratios (IRRs, 2.00, 3.00, and 4.00), 15 levels of decreasing disease incidence, and two confounding levels (20%, 40%) for both fixed and seasonal confounding. Each of the …

Reaching Hard-To-Reach Migrants By Letters: An Hiv/Aids Awareness Programme In Nepal, Krishna Poudel, Masamine Jimba, Kalpana Poudel-Tandukar, Susume Wakai

Elaine Marieb College of Nursing Faculty Publication Series

We assessed the impact of an HIV/AIDS programme for Nepalese migrants to India that involved writing letters. The programme created opportunities for sending HIV/AIDS-related messages to the migrants in India, and encouraging them practicing safer sex. Initially, they received the messages only from the programme, but later from their colleagues, spouses or other family members. They discussed the messages in groups, disseminated them, and sought more knowledge in their destinations. These findings indicated that using letters could be an effective way to reach inaccessible migrants at their destinations, and help them to improve their HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, and safer sex practices.